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- Interval: octave
Interval: octave
You sing a note, leap 12 semitones up and come back.
Root, octave, root: a leap of twelve semitones and back, with the root held two beats at the end. The octave is the same note in a higher register, which makes it easy to hear and hard to sing, because the voice has to change gear without changing pitch quality. Three notes at a slow tempo on 'lah'. Each repetition is a semitone higher than the last, until you're near the top of your range, then the pattern comes back down the same way.
How to do it
- Listen to the piano play root, octave, root.
- Sing the root full and the octave lighter, on 'lah', landing without a slide.
- Watch the top bar on the roll; twelve rows up, it should read green.
- Return to the same root. Each pass is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then it comes back down the same way.
Coach's tip: Sing the top note lighter than the bottom one. Big intervals need a “gear change”.
What to watch out for
Pushing is the main issue: the octave gets loud, strained and flat. Think of it as the same note, only thinner. Scooping up from below shows as a ramp on the roll; prepare the pitch mentally and land on it. A crack at the leap is normal early on; sing softer through it, don't fight it. If the throat pinches or the top hurts, stop and lower the range before continuing.
Who it's for
Advanced singers and ambitious intermediates. Use it in the main block after warming up with “Oo” siren (octave), which connects the same span as a slide. Octave leap 1-8-1 is the same pattern on 'oo' with a longer top note. It isn't listed in a preset program; take the Intervals category in order.
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- Interval: major seventh You sing a note, leap 11 semitones up and come back.
- Interval mix 1-3-1-5-1-8-1 Bigger and bigger leaps from the same base.
- Octave leap with a strong top An octave leap and a held peak, then a fresh start on the top note and a way down through minor-pentatonic notes to the root.
- Wide intervals, no piano Leaps across the major scale, interleaved: fifth, third, sixth, fourth, seventh and octave. You hear only the first note – intonation without help, like an a cappella choir.